Tag Archives: joseph

Don’t Push People Away

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Sometimes we forget that God uses people in our lives–both the good and the bad. If we don’t let people in our lives to help shape us, we will miss out on who God wants us to be.

Joseph’s Story

Joseph’s story from the Old Testament is pretty familiar. He had some really bad things happen to him. His brothers sold him into slavery. His boss’s wife falsely accused him of trying to force her, and his boss threw him in prison for it. While in prison, he interprets the butler’s dream, who promises to put in a good word with Pharaoh for him. But the butler forgets about Joseph…for two long years.

There are a lot of things that people did to him that would be impossible to forgive. And yet, each of those people played an intricate role in shaping Joseph’s life. Taking it a step further, each of those people helped put him in the position of second in command of all of Egypt.

God Worked in Every Detail

Think about this: If Joseph’s brothers wouldn’t have sold him, he wouldn’t have been in Egypt where Potiphar bought him. If Potiphar hadn’t thrown him in prison, he wouldn’t have met the butler and baker and interpreted their dreams. If the butler hadn’t forgotten about Joseph and left him there for two years, he probably wouldn’t have been able to track Joseph down when Pharaoh needed an interpretation of his dream. God was working behind the scenes in every detail of Jospeh’s life, so that when the time was right, Joseph was able to step into place and save an entire nation from starvation.

Allowing God to Work

We get so frustrated with people when they don’t think like us or do what we want them to do. And when people hurt us? Forget it! They’re dead to us. Yet, God uses all kinds of people to shape us and direct us and challenge us so that ultimately we become who he wants us to be. if we’re not careful though, we can circumvent that process. We can sidestep what God is trying to do, how he’s trying to work when we push people out of our lives.

We can also take it a step further and do this in our kids’ lives. Instead of stepping in all the time, we have to let others help shape our kids and correct them. It’s all part of growing into who God wants them to be.

If we want to be who God’s created us to be and step into the path and plan he has for our lives, we have to allow people to influence us along the way. It may mean putting up with a little more hurt and a little more frustration; but it can also add more love, fulfillment, and contentment in our lives as God uses those people to help shape us into who he wants us to be.

Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post, God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in our Souls. A book to read to know when to allow people to help shape us and when to step away is Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lisa TerKeurst.

Adapting and Growing Stronger Through Storms

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We had an amazing opportunity to visit Assateague Island yesterday. Assateague Island is a thirty-seven mile island that runs the coast of Maryland and Virginia. It’s a beautiful beach with a national park. But the most amazing thing about this island is its inhabitants. Wild horses roam freely on the island. When we heard about it, we knew we had to visit it for our horse lovers in the family.

Visiting the Island

Macey, our youngest, has been begging for us to make the trip. We were waiting for nicer weather, and yesterday was finally our chance. We drove there yesterday, unsure what to expect. The island boasts of somewhere between seventy to eighty wild horses, but we weren’t sure if we’d be able to see any. But we did, and it was incredible! We counted a total of about thirteen horses that we saw. It’s crazy because they just wander around. You can find them on the beach, in the parking lot, in the campsite, and everywhere and anywhere. We even got to see one of the two foals on the island! It was an amazing experience, and our kids are already asking when we can go back.

Adapting to Life on Storm Island

One of the things that stood out to me when we were at the visitor center and then later on the island is that these animals have adjusted to life on the island over time. This island is an island that’s seen a lot of storms. Malachi said that he read that it’s called storm island. Because of that, the horses have had to adapt. Their bodies are slightly different than that of the average horse. I am definitely no horse expert, but I read about how these horses have stockier bodies and shorter legs. Macey and I read that they’re fatter than normal horses as well because the grass they eat is salty from being near the ocean, so it makes them drink double of what a normal horse drinks. We also read that they have smaller ears because of the blowing sand all the time.

What’s amazing to me is that the storms that have impacted this island over the years haven’t driven the horses off. Instead, they’ve changed and adapted to their surroundings, making them stronger and able to endure the storms that come their way.

Adapting and Becoming Stronger

It reminds me so much of our lives as Christians. We can either let the storms of life drive us away from what God has for us, or we can adapt and become stronger. We read in the Old Testament how Joseph’s trials made him stronger. The writer of Psalms says this about Joseph:

Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—
    Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
They bruised his feet with fetters
    and placed his neck in an iron collar.
 Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
    the Lord tested Joseph’s character.

Psalm 105:17-19

The King James says it this way:

He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant:

Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:

 Until the time that his word came: the word of the Lord tried him.

Psalm 105:17-19

That phrase laid in iron from commentaries literally means that iron came into his soul. His trials made him stronger, turning him into the leader God needed him to be to save an entire people group from starvation in the coming famine. Had Joseph refused to become stronger through his trials, if he had given up, God couldn’t have used him in the way he did.

Growing Stronger and Adapting

What trials are you going through right now? How is God developing you and growing you and putting iron in your soul?

Rather than trying to dodge the trial, recognize it as as opportunity for growth. God is refining you, fortifying you. Embrace the process; it’s preparing you for what lies ahead.

The best way to grow through the trial is to spend time with God and allow him to work in your life. Adapt to how he’s working and choose to get stronger. Only then will we able to withstand the storms and ultimately be usable to God for what he has in store for us.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, read my post God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in Our Souls or check out Matt’s book Breakthrough.

Don’t Give Up on the Dream God has Given You

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Do you have a dream that seems so far out of touch? Maybe God placed something on your heart years ago, and you’ve been following him every day but things just aren’t working out. Sometimes it feels like that dream seems so far away, and you just want to give up on it.

The Dreamer

There are some verses in Psalms that talk about the boy we know as the dreamer, Joseph.

Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them— Joseph, who was sold as a slave. They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.

Psalm 105:17-19 NLT
verse about Joseph's dream

These verses catch and hold my interest because of how things play out. God sends Joseph to Egypt not as a hero but as a slave. So, he already has a hard go of it. Then things get worse for Joseph. He ends up in prison, hence the bruised feet with fetters and the neck in an iron collar. Joseph didn’t do any of those things, and interestingly, neither did God. God orchestrated the events to bring Joseph to Egypt but then it’s sort of hands-off for a while. God uses this time and these circumstances to test Joseph’s character.

Joseph’s Dreams Come to Pass

Then, God sets things right for Joseph. Suddenly, the clock speeds up and everything falls into place for Joseph.

Then Pharaoh sent for him and set him free; the ruler of the nation opened his prison door. Joseph was put in charge of all the king’s household; he became ruler over all the king’s possessions. He could instruct the king’s aides as he pleased and teach the king’s advisers.

Psalm 105:20-22

God had a plan to make Joseph’s wildest dreams come true. He had such an incredible plan for Joseph’s life, but it wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy. What if Joseph had given up? What if he had given up and walked away from it all because in his mind, things would never work out? We know just how much Joseph would have missed out on, had he done that.

Walking Away from Our Dream

What we don’t know is how much we are risking if we walk away from what God has for us. How much are we going to miss out on if we don’t stay at it, if we don’t follow the dream God gave us? We could be so close to a breakthrough. God could literally be moving things right now in your life or mine to bring things to fruition that we never thought possible. But if we walk away from it, we won’t ever see those blessings. We won’t ever see those dreams come to pass.

I know it’s hard. Seasons of trial always are. You may feel broken right now and don’t think you can stay in the fight. I’m telling you, you can. You just have to focus on staying in the fight today. Just for the next hour, the next minute. What does staying in the fight look like?

Staying in the Fight

It’s staying with your husband and not giving up on your marriage. Getting up early and spending time with God in his Word and journaling even when it feels like he is so very far away and silent. Showing up for church, even when your spirit isn’t in the right place. Praising God and singing though your heart feels so heavy it might break.

It’s smiling and encouraging someone else when they have no idea how much you need the encouragement yourself. Giving towards someone else’s need when you don’t have enough money for your own bills. Loving on that neighbor who is so frustrating and causes so many problems. It’s choosing to show up in love and faith today and live the life that God’s called you to live to the very best of your ability.

It’s simply choosing to take the next step today and then the next and the next. I call it faithfully stepping. One day at a time. One moment at a time.

The Dream Fulfilled

I wonder if Joseph woke up one morning and walked out on his terrace and viewed the whole land of Egypt before him as his beautiful wife came and stood next to him and his two boys ran around them and wondered at the sheer goodness of God. I wonder if he thought about the fact that nothing in his wildest dreams as a boy-dreamer came close to the things God had ordained in his life.

I think he did. He had to have. He was the dreamer and once a dreamer, always a dreamer. The thing about a dreamer is that they always wake up. A dream always ends and reality always comes. In Joseph’s case, the reality was even more beautiful than the dream. God wants that for us too; we have to simply continue to keep faithfully stepping until the dream comes to fruition.

For More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post When You Feel Like Quitting or check out my husband’s book, Breakthrough: Transforming the Death of a Dream to the Birth of a Breakthrough.